Charles D. Beeker

Director

Phone:

(812) 855-5748

Email:

cbeeker@indiana.edu

Website:

https://publichealth.indiana.edu/research/faculty-directory/profile.html?user=cbeeker

Charles Beeker serves as the director for Indiana University’s Center for Underwater Science and Academic Diving Program. Beeker is a Registered Professional Archaeologist and PADI Master Instructor who has been teaching recreational and scientific diving classes for over 40 years. Professor Beeker served as a member of the Federal Archaeological Working Committee for the 1988 Abandoned Shipwreck Act and was appointed to the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee in 2005. He has assisted in establishing underwater parks and preserves across the United States and Caribbean, using a model of multidisciplinary scientific investigations of the submerged cultural and biological resources.

Claudia C. Johnson

Associate Director for the Center for Underwater Science, Professor for the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Phone:

(812) 855-0646

Email:

claudia@indiana.edu

Website:

http://invertebrates.earth.indiana.edu/index.html

Dr. Claudia Johnson is an Associate Director for the Center for Underwater Science, as well as a Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at IUB. She investigates the evolutionary history of the reef ecosystem, from ancient to modern, to evaluate tropical biodiversity fluctuations under Earth’s changing climate regimes. Her research examines ancient greenhouse world reefs to evaluate what was, explores today’s reefs to monitor their health, and connects the two to provide a perspective of the future health of the reef ecosystem from records of deep geological time. Claudia’s research and teaching are integrated thematically through her G341 Natural History of Coral Reefs and G411 Invertebrate Paleontology courses for upperdivision undergraduates. Claudia holds open water and scientific diving certifications and is a member of the Diving Control Board and the Scientific Diving Subcommittee.  

Kirsten M. Hawley

Research Coordinator

Phone:

(812) 856-2360

Email:

kmhawley@indiana.edu

Kirsten Hawley is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington. Her research integrates underwater archaeology, geochemistry, and community engagement to study prehistoric ceramic procurement practices in eastern Dominican Republic. Kirsten graduated from IUB in 2016 with her undergraduate degrees in Anthropology, Underwater Archaeology, and Underwater Resource Management. She is also a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor and has previously worked as an archaeologist for California State Parks.

Samuel I. Haskell

Assistant Director of Safety and Training, Diving Safety Officer

Phone:

(812) 856-5860

Email:

sihaskel@indiana.edu

Website:

https://protect.iu.edu/environmental-health/diving/index.html

Serving as Indiana University’s Diving Safety Officer, Sam manages the development and implementation of a comprehensive IU diving program and policy to include scientific, recreational, and instructional scuba diving activities that occur in association with the University. As a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and DAN Diving Emergency Management Provider Instructor, Sam coordinates the Department of Kinesiology’s Academic Diving Program. As Assistant Director of Safety and Training for the Center for Underwater Science, his primary research interests are the establishment and management of submerged cultural resources as Marine Protected Areas and underwater parks.

Sarah Muckerheide

Laboratory Coordinator

Email:

smmucker@iu.edu

Sarah Muckerheide is PhD student in Anthropology. She obtained a Master's in Anthropology from Indiana University in 2024. She graduated Indiana University in 2023 with degrees in Anthropology and Underwater Archaeology, minors in Spanish and Biology, and a certificate in Underwater Resource Management. She is currently researching the 16th century Punta Espada shipwreck in the Dominican Republic. She is a PADI Instructor teaching scuba classes within the Academic Diving Program.  In her laboratory coordinator position, she is managing the conservation of waterlogged 16th century shipwreck artifacts that are in the Underwater Archaeology laboratory in the IU Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Robert Kessler

Assistant Director of Budget and Finance

Email:

rkessler@indiana.edu

Website:

https://academicdiving.publichealth.indiana.edu/About/profile3.html

Bob Kessler is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and instructor with the Indiana Univeristy Academic Diving program. As coordinator of the Department of Kinesiology's Physical Activity Instructional Program and a member of the University Diving Control Board, he also serves the Center for Underwater Science as the Assistant Director of Budget and Finance.

Wyatt Fritz

Research Associate/Videographer

Email:

wjfritz@iu.edu

Wyatt Fritz is a Master’s student at Indiana University, currently studying under a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship for Haitian Creole with the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS). He graduated from Indiana University in May 2023 with degrees in Media (Film Production) and Underwater Archaeology. Wyatt is a sixth-year research associate with Indiana University’s Center for Underwater Science. He also teaches underwater videography and is a PADI Openwater Scuba Instructor with the University's Academic Diving Program. As a documentary-filmmaker and ethnographer his research interests include French-Creole culture in the Americas and the effect of tourism on maritime communities in the Greater Antilles.

Alexa Rand

Research Associate/Divemaster

Email:

alerand@iu.edu

Alexa graduated from Indiana University in May 2024 with a B.S. in Biology, minors in French and Chemistry, and a Certificate in Underwater Resource Management. She is currently working with the Center for Underwater Science as a research associate helping on various research projects. She participated in the 2023 and 2024 Living Museums in the Sea Field School in the Dominican Republic and the 2024 Field School in Lake Michigan. She is also working for the Academic Diving Program as a Divemaster. Her interests include dive medicine, the various biochemical processes of marine organisms, and chemical analysis of archaeological artifacts.

Jenna Baelz

Equipment Technician

Email:

jbaelz@iu.edu

Jenna is Indiana University’s Academic Diving Program Equipment Technician. Jenna manages and services all SCUBA diving equipment used for training and field projects. Additionally, Jenna is an Open Water SCUBA Instructor at the university with a degree in Marine Conservation and a certificate in Underwater Resource Management with primary research focuses in protecting and preserving significant submerged cultural and biological resources via park development.

Pamela Lara Tufiño

Research Associate

Email:

plaratuf@iu.edu

Pamela Lara Tufiño is a PhD student in the Department of Anthropology. She received her bachelor’s degree in archaeology from the National School of Anthropology and History in Mexico. Since 2015, she has conducted underwater archaeology projects as a research associate at the National Institute of Anthropology and History in Mexico. Her research integrates underwater archaeology, relationality, iconography, and analysis of Indigenous religions to study people’s relationships with bodies of water (and their materiality) from prehispanic to contemporary times. She has participated in archaeological and ethnographic research projects in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia. She is also a certified rescue, sidemount, cavern, and intro to cave diver.

Hannah-Marie Lamle

Research Affiliate

Email:

hamlamle@iu.edu

Hannah-Marie is a coral reef ecologist and research affiliate with the Center for Underwater Science, where she specializes in the biology of shipwrecks in the Dominican Republic. She is a current PhD student at Florida International University (FIU), in the Santos Seascape Ecology Laboratory.  While she does not have a defined project as of yet, she is assisting with other projects in the lab, mainly on a NOAA SeaGrant in Culebra, Puerto Rico. This type of work consists of identifying benthic substrates (coral species, algae, sand, rubble, etc) from orthomosaics and using Coral Point Count software to determine coral coverage. Additionally, she is a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, and enjoys spending her time recreationally diving on the plethora of South Florida’s shipwrecks.

Tori Galloway

Research Affiliate

Phone:

(812) 855-5748

Email:

torgallo@iu.edu

Tori Galloway graduated with undergraduate and graduate degrees from IU in Anthropology, Underwater Archaeology, and Underwater Resource Management. Her interests include common-pool resource management, Iberian and American wooden shipbuilding methods, and community-based archaeology. Tori is a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor certified in Closed-Circuit Rebreather, cave, and decompression diving, with field experience in the Great Lakes, Caribbean, and Pacific.

Matthew J. Maus

Research Affiliate

Email:

mmaus@indiana.edu

Website:

https://sketchfab.com/grnbrd

Matt Maus is a Research Affiliate with the Center for Underwater Science.  He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and his Master of Arts in Archaeology from Indiana University. In addition to previous experience in archaeology and wildlife conservation, he was the US Peace Corps Living Museums of the Sea National Coordinator in the Dominican Republic. His research fields are underwater archaeology, photogrammetry, and the protection of submerged cultural resources and associated ecosystems through the establishment of MPAs. Matthew is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and Registered Professional Archaeologist.

Carlton Shield Chief Gover

Research Associate

Email:

cqshield@iu.edu

Carlton Shield Chief Gover is a citizen of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. He received his B.S. in Anthropology from Radford University, his M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Wyoming, and his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Colorado Boulder with Professional Certificates in Museology and Native American & Indigenous Studies. His research area is in the Central Great Plains of the United States with a focus on ancestral Pawnee and Arikara heritage. His research utilizes Pawnee and Arikara oral traditions, regarding population movement and social change, as foundational evidence for interpreting the archaeological record from the 9th to 16th centuries A.D. He has published in American Antiquity, Plains Anthropologist, and Advances in Archaeological Practice.

Rachel Wilson

Research Affiliate, Adaptive Scuba Specialist

Email:

wilsrach@iu.edu

Rachel Wilson is an Indiana University graduate with a Master's in Recreational Therapy and a Certificate in Underwater Resource Management. Rachel is a PADI Instructor and Certified Diveheart Adaptive Dive Buddy. Her primary research interest includes the benefits of scuba diving for individuals with disabilities.

Bill Ruf

Research Affiliate

Phone:

(812) 855-5822

Email:

rufwm@indiana.edu

Website:

https://biology.indiana.edu/about/faculty/ruf-bill.html

Bill Ruf has received a PhD in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin and has worked in the Biology Department at IUB for over forty years.  For the past twenty-five years he has been the director of the Tropical Biology Program in Overseas Study.  He is currently a Senior Lecturer in Biology and through Overseas Study offers biology undergraduates the opportunity to dive and study the coral reefs of Grand Cayman and South Africa.

Frederick H. Hanselmann

Research Affiliate

Email:

fhanselmann@rsmas.miami.edu

Website:

https://people.miami.edu/profile/fhanselmann@rsmas.miami.edu

Dr. Frederick H. Hanselmann is a Research Affiliate for the Center for Underwater Science. He is currently Senior Maritime Project Manager for Search Inc.

Ania Budziak

Research Affiliate

Email:

abudziak@indiana.edu

Ania is a marine conservation specialist and Research Associate with the Center for Underwater Science. She is also a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor and member of the Indiana University Diving Control Board.

Jessica Keller

Research Affiliate

Email:

jessica.keller@noaa.gov

Website:

https://www.omao.noaa.gov/learn/diving-program

Jessica is a Research Associate with the Center for Underwater Science. She is currently employed as a training specialist with NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations Diving Program and serves on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Underwater Sciences.

Lester Wadzinski

Adjunct Faculty

Email:

lwadzins@indiana.edu

Lester Wadzinski teaches scuba for the School of Public Health (SPH) and environmental classes for the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA). He received his BS from Indiana University in 1973 and a MS from Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania in 1983. He is retired from the US Forest Service after a 36 year career in natural resource management. Lester is a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor and has been involved with the IU diving program since being first certified in 1976. Additionally, Lester helps direct field projects in both Grand Cayman and South Africa.